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Josh Kraft says Netanyahu ‘has to go’
The Boston mayoral candidate is a Jewish American and has been a supporter of Israel.
Boston mayoral candidate Josh Kraft, a Jewish American who’s been a supporter of Israel, said Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “has to go,” in an interview with GBH on Wednesday.
“Look, I don’t want to talk about those federal issues,” Kraft said when asked about whether or not the U.S. should be supplying Israel with weapons. “I’ve worked with kids, I think it’s horrible what’s happening … It’s not right. I think Netanyahu has to go.”
Since the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack by Hamas, 60,000 people, including 18,500 children, have been killed in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
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“Any war, wherever it is, there’s collateral damage,” Kraft continued. “But you know what, when it’s kids, I’ve got a problem with that. And it’s horrible what’s happening to the kids in Gaza. Starvation. And altogether it’s horrible. I don’t like looking at it. I think there needs to be a change in Israeli leadership.”
On Friday, a UN-backed food security initiative declared that Gaza is undergoing “worse-case scenario of famine.”
From April to mid-July, 20,000 children have been hospitalized with malnutrition, with over 3,000 of them suffering from severe malnutrition. Children under 5 years old make up the demographic that is increasingly experiencing malnutrition, with 16 children having died from hunger since July 17, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).
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Kraft said, “I’m an American Jew, you know, I’m a supporter of Israel, but it’s — I think it’s horrible what’s happening now.”
Josh Kraft’s father, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, was awarded the Genesis Prize by Netanyahu in 2019 for personal achievement and commitment to Jewish values.
Robert Kraft also runs the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, the Myra and Robert Kraft Passport to Israel Program, and brings NFL coaches and players on “Touchdown in Israel” trips. Also, Boston’s Combined Jewish Philanthropies offices are in the Kraft Family Building.
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